<p>was it printed on nice paper stock with water mark? (bonus point 1)
did you write in queen’s english with extra u and e or something? (bonus points 5)
did it smell nice? ( bonus points 3)</p>
<p>Actually it was a phone interview. Must have been my charming accent when I say “been” I sound like I just arrived from Australia not the UK. I get very attached to the interns because they are so damn earnest … I never, ever look at their college or GPA when I look at applications…just read their statement of interest. So kids from Uof Iowa, Mary Washington college, and my very favorite…Univ of West Virginia …everyone says I pick well but the others who are disappointed in interns tend to go for kids from big name schools like HPYS or even Carnegie Mellon… we have hired from some big names but it all depends on whether they can write a coherent, intelligent statement of interest…funny how they turn out to be coherent and intelligent…</p>
<p>FAMMoM: I think your D is a junior this year,right? So is Aspie girl. Technically I suppose we should be putting the screws on her to start thinking about college. But the truth of the matter is that the whole experience last year left such a bad taste in my mouth (heck, it got worse after what happened the first semester) that I really am not pushing anything. I think it will be a miracle for aspie girl to get through the SAT (essay part, she’ll sail through the rest) and her guidance counselor (same one that got on the phone with MICA behind my back last year) is pushing to go ahead and get the accommodations so that aspie girl can take the ACT. I don’t really see the point. Aspie girl has no desire to live away from home, I think she is far less able to do that than D1. There are expensive programs that provide support for aspie kids in college – we have a friend with a son who is going to NYU- polytech or some such – but she really doesn’t know what she wants to do. She broke down in tears when we were signing up for the SAT and she had to come up with three major choices. So I think we will forego all the college shenanigans next year and just let her go to community college, maybe part time. She wouldn’t be able to get through a job interview, so she won’t have a job… maybe she can get a part time job at the barn she rides at - if we can figure a way around the transportation issues. As it is, what will happen with D1 is very much up in the air. I guess I just like hanging out here and as long as you’ll all have me and D1 is still working her art thing… I"ll stay.<br>
Besides, maybe manga girl will decide on portfolios/artschool shtick after all. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.</p>
<p>I finally figured out a way to get D3 to do something - I threatened one of the dogs! Bad of me, I know, but I was desperate. She was home sick from school today, but not terribly sick, and hadn’t known about a homework assignment from the weekend, plus yesterday’s homework, plus the work she was missing, etc. </p>
<p>I brought her all her stuff, and her lap desk, and all she needed to get started was to roll over so she could use her lap desk properly (this was after I spent a good long time reading to her). She whined. I was holding the dog anyway (the easily scared one) and I told her to roll over or he would go into the bathroom and I would leave him there with the lights off and the vacuum on. He happily licked my chin the whole time. She wailed. </p>
<p>When I made quasi-threatening gestures towards the Dirt Devil, she rolled over. Who knows, this may never work again, but it did work today and I thought it was pretty funny. Deep down, I think she did too. The dog would be horrified! (and I wouldn’t have done it)</p>
<p>Fammom, Gmom, et al, you have to keep posting here to complain/brag about your younger ones. We all feel as if we know them by now, at least a little, and would like to keep hearing news. After all, the launch may go on for a few more years anyway for the older ones. What better way to keep up? </p>
<p>Gmom- your aspie girl may do better on the ACT if she does it without the writing section (which is common). You’ll have a test score then, to use or not use, for college apps of any kind. When my D1 took statistics at our local CC last summer, her ACT score helped her skip their own placement testing system and enroll more easily. Kids say the ACT is less tricky so it may appeal to her more.</p>
<p>Barnesy2011:
hope you get in, Cooper is fun from what I heard. But so many excellent art schools out there like SAIC, MICA, CMU, RISD, … and the ones in California. So it is not that big deal.
bears:
best wishes to your S and hope he get to a nice one.
FAMM:
Thanks for your story. You are right Law or MBA is not that easy these days. Maybe our artist will make a good living on their skills …</p>
<p>^^^ I have a lawyer friend who is being supported by his parents because he’s been waiting (for years) for a big settlement. He works 7 days a week too! Not an easy job usually.</p>
<p>Gmom - for financial aid purposes, if you have a child enrolled at least half time at a CC, it counts as a child in college. So if you have two in college at the same time it should expand your financial aid considerably.</p>
<p>“they can write a coherent, intelligent statement of interest…funny how they turn out to be coherent and intelligent…”
Excellent statement…</p>
<p>The other part that wasn’t mentioned is that all those kids who are home from college and can’t find work also have huge debt. This is not a good time for those without a trust fund or some sort of backup. When I see my young relative who picked a school that while good was also close to home so much less expensive and then worked his little patootie off, went into one of those “government” WPA type do-some-good programs and has found that a great path. This smart young person also by picking the school close to home and being frugal has no debt, none. And the freedom of that is amazing. Now looking to graduate school without worrying about already being up to the knees in loans. And to top it off this is a kid with major dyslexia, so it can be done even when you have some serious issues to deal with. </p>
<p>But the wisdom of less expensive undergraduate choices is in this tale. Not to mention that if they really want to do something then it can be done. But it’s best to let them get to that point. I think this young relative might have had less pressure from the home front since each step forward was a big hurrah and each step back taken with a more restrained response.</p>
<p>I see myself and my own responses and situations in so many of these posts. Of course since I’m vowed to a pledge of silence I must be careful or all contact will be cut off. LOL
I’ve threatened, cajoled, pleaded, sat up all night agonizing while home tests were done, the whole bit. Jeez, I wish we’d had an artist grandmother to send the youngster off to while doing that home test…I’d have far less gray hair right now. And I’m learning to roll with it I think, it looks like I may just get this parenting thing perfected right about the time I’m a grandparent. Maybe that’s why people say being a grandparent is easy!</p>
<p>Being a gma may be easy, but she was the opposite of helicopter when her own kids were coming up. In terms of choices, she made absolutely none of the middle school/high school helicopter decisions I made (pushing into magnet programs, yelling about homework, etc.) She did send on of Hs siblings to an out of state private Quaker school, because he needed to get away from the kids he was hanging with, and combined with his learning disabilities his high school situation was getting grim. But the other two were raised in a podunk defunct steel town, all she did, as far as I can tell, is love and respect her kids, be kind to them, take them to church regularly, and mostly mind her own business about their decisions. The family has had their share of heartache, illness, and one bad marriage, but now, as adults with kids of their own, they are all doing really well. They all have careers they love, none of us is rich, but even the one with LDs who took 6 years to make it thru college, is finishing his graduate degree, married to a fabulous young woman, and makes something of a living doing art.</p>
<p>“all she did, as far as I can tell, is love and respect her kids, be kind to them, take them to church regularly, and mostly mind her own business about their decisions.”
switters:
The above statement is SO TRUE. Too bad it takes a very long time for me to realize this. I know I am still way to much a “helicopter”. We all need to let them go and do their own things, it is only easy to say.</p>
<p>It would be SO wonderful to be laid back, but that is not me and I won’t apologize for who I am. I went through stages of coercement to get the last apps in for oldest. Yelling was futile and had bad results. Guilt worked for a bit. Threats of abandoning her to do the essays and pics on her own schedule and miss the deadline didn’t work either. I think she knew deep down that I wouldn’t be able to stand missing the deadline and would drive her to Fed Ex, state parks for just the right landscape pics, etc. anyway. Last resort was nagging – frequent. I am willing to let her fail, but not this time. Finally were down to 2 RISD pics 2 days before the package had to go out the door (we missed the cheaper methods). 2/14 – the day before they are due in hand the last pic is being worked on in between computer games. Finally got it packaged and to FedEx at 7:30 pm. The deadline for next day is 8 pm. I am still recovering from the stress. In the end, we high fived and I received a sincere “Thank you. I could not have made the deadline without you.” Payment enough for me.</p>
<p>mom4art I hear ya, and especially the part “I am willing to let her fail, but not this time”. I am the project manager for my whole household, everyone knows that I wont let deadlines get missed, and all that. I made my S proof read applications and found all kinds of little errors even after he proof read. It was an extremely stressful season for us too. I think for me I walk a really fine line all the time for enabling irresponsibility, and helping with things I am good at.</p>
<p>Now about my MIL, these children she raised are now in their 30s and 40s, so of course hind sight is there…</p>
<p>mom4art I hear ya, and especially the part “I am willing to let her fail, but not this time”. I am the project manager for my whole household, everyone knows that I wont let deadlines get missed, and all that. I made my S proof read applications and found all kinds of little errors even after he proof read. It was an extremely stressful season for us too. I think for me I walk a really fine line all the time for enabling irresponsibility, and helping with things I am good at.</p>
<p>Now about my MIL, these children she raised are now in their 30s and 40s, so of course hind sight is there…</p>
<p>Each child is differently. I still remember the time I kept on checking her homework all the time in her junior high year to make sure she didn’t miss anything. Her grade was like all very high and then certain 0s in the way(didn’t get done on time or totally missed), and finally end up not get A in the end. I got so mad and …</p>
<p>Later on, in her high school year, I totally give up and even didn’t care what home work, project she had … and she got all done on time!</p>
<p>As for college applications, She just got one portfolio for all schools and I think one good essay, the one she loved to send to all schools, if the school want one more essay, then another one. I think totally, she only have two or three essay for all.</p>
<p>When she worked on Cooper hometest, she got one environment billboard design done the way she loved, she showed me and I didn’t say anything encouraging, she got mad and said I didn’t appreciate/care … Actually I really didn’t understand that piece that much.
Yes, she did spend several nights on one painting in her bed room and all others were not time consuming at all. </p>
<p>The night before her hometest was due, she asked me to mail it out for her in the night, and she is so tired and won’t go with me. I prefer to send out the next day instead of driving out in the dark. She got so anxious and made me drive out, so that she can feel more relieved. </p>
<p>I am still regret that I only peeked what she did but didn’t make a copy of her short questions/answers. Luckily I took picture of all her art works of the hometest when she was only busy on getting it done. When I took picture, I have to do it secretly, otherwise she would complain that is not my business.</p>
<p>There are mistakes for sure, for example missed to apply Columbia University and USC. Later I asked her why and she said since she applied WashU, there is no need to apply to these … she tried to have a excuse to cover it up</p>
<p>Well, I think that some people do deserve the helicopter title. Most of the rest of parents use the skill judiciously. All I know is that I want ArtD (have to come up with a shorter name for her) to do what she loves and can’t live without and that is drawing. And I thank my lucky stars that she knows it. There was no way my mother was going to let me major in performing arts like I wanted, so it took me decades to figure out my alternate calling. In fact, we are all pretty lucky that our kids are so focused. It is really hard when you have no idea what you want to do and 7 or 8 disparate ideas sound good.</p>
<p>But boy I hear you guys on the college costs. We had planned for an in-state science degree with graduate work at a fabulous school after she distinguished herself. We had NOT planned for a private elite expensive long distance college with MFA at equally expensive prices to follow. Oh well. My gift is to let her follow her dreams. I didn’t get to.</p>
<p>Moms, it sounds like you grew up the same way I did. No way were my parents footing the bill for some foo-foo art degree. As it was, I was told that with five kids in the family, if I wanted a college education, then I’d better work my little b u t t off and get scholarships to pay for it (which I did). I lived at home and commuted to UC Irvine. Got a degree in biology. Kept drawing and painting for hobbies. So when D1 had such an incredible aptitude for art, I wasn’t going to stand in her way and tell her it wasn’t practical. On the other hand, since it’s art, I thought she should go to the school she wanted to go to and get the best art education she could. We hit a bit of glitch on that path and I’ve discovered that sometimes you are actually forced to sit on the sidelines and watch your kid flounder and find that there’s not a thing you can do about it. Just love them and support them and pray for them. I remember asking D1 if she wanted to come with me to Germany next week… and she said in a small voice “I really don’t deserve to do anything like that” and I looked at her and said, you know… this isn’t a question of ‘deserving’ anything. I love you and I can offer you this opportunity – it’s up to you to decide if you want to take it or not.</p>
<p>I am glad to be done with the portfolio stuff… for now anyways…</p>
<p>let me just say that I love your D1</p>
<p>Mom4: I did the same thing, running to the FedEx box, to get app’s in before the deadline. D originally had 6 schools on her radar, and then ended up only applying to 3. She applied to her top 3 choices first, and then after she got accepted to her #3 choice, she figured it was a waste of time and money to do the rest. I wanted her to apply to the rest, but she had her mind set on these 3, so I didn’t mind that much, saved me some application fees especially SAIC who was charging $60. Both H and I did not get to go away to college, even tho his parents were well off and I had a 4 year scholarship to any state school. I think in both cases it was a control issue. So there’s no way I was going to tell D she wasn’t going to go to where her heart and soul wanted and needed to be.</p>
<p>A fun quiz:
[How</a> Millennial Are You? Q1](<a href=“http://pewresearch.org/millennials/quiz/]How”>Millennials - Research and data from Pew Research Center)
I got 74 score, feel happy about it.</p>
<p>I got an 85, I think all my texting put me over the top…</p>